For those of you holding out for Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather, forget about it. It ain’t gonna happen. And the reason is simple.
Mayweather, at age 35, is getting old. And if he didn’t fight the hard-punching, still blazing fast Pacquiao two or three years ago when he was at the peak of his powers — he sure is not going to fight him when his skills have deteriorated so obviously.
Did you see Miguel Cotto trap Mayweather in the corner and rake him with power punches, punishing his body and bloodying his nose? Did you see the worried, hurt look on Mayweather’s face as Cotto fearlessly and effortlessly moved in and closed the distance on him? Did you see “Money’s” legs fail to carry him out of danger and back to the safety of ring center for the first time in his career?
Mayweather was hit with punches that wouldn’t have hit anything but air a year ago. In 2012, those punches are connecting with alarming regularity
A fading fighter
With all due respect to Cotto, who fought a great fight, he is not Pacquiao. At age 31, the Puerto Rican is also past his prime, and was never one of the faster fighters in boxing to begin with. Yet, he was pretty much able to execute his fight plan to perfection, putting pressure (however inconsistent) on Mayweather and forcing him to fight backing up. Had Cotto been equipped with better stamina, and was able to stick his face in Mayweather’s chest for entire rounds, he would have won that fight.
Had Pacquiao been in the ring with Mayweather on Saturday, he would have knocked Floyd out.
Fighters as seasoned and tough as Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Oscar De La Hoya have fallen at Pacquiao’s feet. The look on their faces when the Filipino began to open up was telling. It was a look of desperation, surprise and, yes, fear.
No fighter in the world can be prepared for “Pac-Man’s” combination of speed and power, coming from a southpaw stance. And while Juan Manuel Marquez has solved the Pacquiao puzzle to a degree, he is the only one. Every Ali has his Frazier.
There was a time Floyd could have beaten Pacquiao. That time has passed.
After the Cotto fight, HBO’s Larry Merchant asked Mayweather whether he would give Pacquiao a 50-50 purse split — the latest in a slew of unresolved negotiating points. Money did not answer. And Merchant, to his discredit, failed to pursue it, probably because, 30 seconds earlier, he enjoyed a love-fest with Floyd, as the two made amends for their infamous on-air flap in September.
Even though Mayweather was again getting visibly agitated at Merchant’s questions, the veteran journalist didn’t want another repeat of the last post-fight debacle, and dropped it. He let Floyd off the hook.
But Mayweather’s message was loud and clear. For whatever reason, he has no desire to get in the ring with Pacquiao.
Many felt Mayweather lost his 2002 fight with Jose Luis Castillo. But that was a matter of scoring and technical preference. Floyd wasn’t beaten up.
Cotto beat him up. You can be sure that Pacquiao would, too.
Lifestyle, age and fast-food binges have robbed Floyd of his former brilliance — all the more reason for Mayweather to avoid the Pacquiao fight altogether.
Pacquiao-Bradley
Of course, the entire Pacquiao-Mayweather conversation will be moot if Pac-Man loses to Timothy Bradley on June 9 in Las Vegas.
Anybody who’s seen “Desert Storm” knows he has a legit chance. Five years younger, at age 28, he could expose Pacquiao as fading as well.
